Miles for Smiles: The Hough Family Run 5K in 50 States in 50 Days

HOUSTON – An Air Force pilot with a family from North Carolina finished his run in Houston just days ago, running miles for smiles.

Talk about a healthy way to exercise and spend quality time with your family. Their goal, which they are so close to achieving: to run a 5K in all 50 states in 50 days. The Hough family is doing this now to raise awareness and funds to help children with cleft palate.

For the past six weeks, the Gaff family has been traveling to a new state every day, fueled by a passion to help children with cleft lip and cleft lip. The disease affects 1 in 700 babies worldwide. If the condition is not treated, it can be difficult for him to speak, eat and breathe. They know all about this because their 17-year-old daughter Campbell was born with a cleft.

“Giving birth to a child with a cleft, trying to feed it. She wasn’t getting any nutrition, and I had lactation consultants and all these professionals on hand, and a lot of families around the world don’t have that. And Smile Train will provide that for them, and that’s why we’re doing it,” says Campbell’s mother, Kelly Gough.

OFFERED: A woman is fulfilling a lifelong promise to help others by making life better in Richmond

Campbell had access to medical care, but that’s not the case for many families dealing with this disease. That’s why they’re running to raise funds and awareness for The Smile Train, a non-profit organization that has been working with them for nearly 18 years, since Campbell was born. The nonprofit offers free corrective surgery for children with cleft lip or palate. This happens when the tissues do not connect before birth.

“They like to go out and provide training and resources to local professionals to help their communities, so it’s a sustainable model,” says father Jeremy Gough.

“A smile is a universal language. It’s like a part of social interaction. It’s part of happiness, and if you can’t smile, you just have a hard time connecting with people and just existing. So I think that’s why it’s so important to give these people the opportunity to smile and live a happy and healthy life,” says a smiling Campbell.

Get news, weather and more with the new FOX LOCAL app

She and her dad came up with the idea on a mission trip to Colombia for Smile Train. They want it to be difficult, like what kids go through. The girls switched to an online school to host 50 strong 4 cleft, while bringing communities together one step at a time.

“All the information about the ride is published, but then we update the information five days in advance and reach out to friends and family we know in the area and through our social network and try to get people to come out and run with us.

OFFERED: Texas baby can walk thanks to spina bifida surgery in utero

It took a lot of planning to cover all 50 states and the nation’s capital in 50 days,” explains Jeremy. Younger sister Campbell explains how it all started.

“We started in Alaska, then we went along the top, and then down the whole east coast, and then we’re kind of moving up and down the lower states, in the middle of the bottom. Caroline says.

“It was kind of hard to do at first, but it’s definitely gotten better, keeping up with my cross country girls, so it’s their jam! I’m 47, so it was difficult, but that’s why we did it because it was supposed to be easy,” Kelly exclaims.

From the smallest towns to bustling cities, they inspire strangers to lace up their sneakers to help change lives. They will soon conclude on October 31st in Hawaii. All of their 5Ks will run 155 miles over seven weeks. Their goal is to raise at least $100,000.

To follow their journey or learn more click here